Epistle II. To Arrianus.
by
the Same. [Mr. Pelham]
[_]
He sends an Oration of his, which he says was written in imitation of
Demosthenes, desiring him to correct it, and to give him his Advice as to the Publishing of it.
Since I find you have deferred your coming, I send you the piece, which I formerly promised you,
and beg of you to Correct it with your usual Faithfulness. And the rather,
because it is the first thing I have written in that Spirit: For I had it in my View to imitate the accurate
Demosthenes, who has long been your Delight, and who lately is become mine.
But when I speak of imitating him, I mean it only as to the Stile, for the Force and Energy of such a Man is not to be attained to,
but by
those whom Heaven has equally befriended. Nor was my Subject, which required little else besides earnestness and vehemence in Pleading,
at all unfit for such an Emulation (Pardon that presumptuous Word) but rather Favourable to it,
as it roused me from a long indulged Idleness, and stirred up all my latent fire;
if I do not flatter my self in thinking, there was a Spark yet left in me.
Neither have I entirely avoided, the gayer Colourings of my Master
Cicero, nor scrupled, to enliven the Subject by a Digression, whenever it did not lead me too far out of the way.
For I endeavoured to write closely but without stiffness. But do not imagine that I desire your indulgence upon this Account:
On the contrary, to make you more intent upon your Corrections, I own to you that my Friends and I,
have no Aversion to the Publishing this Piece, if by the Addition of your Vote,
we can make our Folly the more Excusable. And, indeed, I look upon my self as obliged to Publish something, and my Laziness would fain
persuade me, to let it be this, which is ready. I think my self obliged to do it,
upon several Accounts, but especially, because my former Writings are still asked for,
(tho' they have, long since, lost the Charm of Novelty) unless the Booksellers tell me so,
only out of Flattery: But let them flatter, if they will, provided their Fallacies make me the fonder of my Studies.
Farewel.
